Seed-cotton distributer and cleaner



No. 6|0,667. Patented Sept. l3, I898.

' F. WALLA.

SEED COTTON DISTRIBUTER AND CLEANER.

(Application filed Mar. 10, 1897.)

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F. WALLA.

SEED COTTON DISTRIBUTEB AND CLEANER.

(Application filed Mar. 10, 1897.)

2 Shear-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

THE NORIHIIS pc-rzas co, PHOTDLITHOU wAsmNemN. 0.1:.

UNITED MATES PATENT FRANK WALLA, OFFRELSBURG, TEXAS.

SEED-COTTON DISTRIBUTER AND CLEANER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 610,667, dated September 13, 1898.

Application filed March 10,1897.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK WALLA, a citizen of the United States,residing at Frelsburg, in the county of Colorado and State of'lexas,

have invented a new and useful Seed-Cotton Distributer and Gleaner, of which the following is a specification. Y i

This invention relates to certain improvements in seed-cotton distributers and cleaners, such as are employed for cleaning'seed-cotton and distributing the same to the gins; and the object of the invention is to provide a device of this character of 'a simple and inexpensive nature having means for effecting a substantially complete separation of the dust and other fine impurities from the cotton and also provided with improved means to prevent the feed or distributing apron from be ing choked up by the cotton.

The invention consists in a device of this character having a vacuum or suction box or chamber through which the cotton to be fed to the gins is adapted to be passed, said suction box or chamber having at opposite sides compartments separated by screens from the portion of the box through which the cotton passes, these compartments being in direct communication with the suction-fan and be ing adapted to receive and hold the fine impurities and dust carried by the cotton, which impurities will be drawn by the suction through the screens forming the walls of said compartments. r

The invention also contemplates certain novel features of the construction, combination, and arrangement of the various parts of the improved seed-cotton distributer and cleaner, whereby certain important advantages are attained and the apparatus is made simpler, cheaper, and otherwise better adapted and more convenient for use, all as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

The novel features of the invention will be carefully described in the claims.

In order that my improvements may be the better understood, I have shown in the drawings a seed-cotton distributer and cleaner constructed in accordance with my invention, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section taken longitudinally through the apparatus, showing the same constructed for use in connection with semi No. 626,818. on. model.)

two cotton-gins, these gins being shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken through the suction-box in the plane indicated by the line a a in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2,

but taken in the plane indicated by the line b hb in Fig. 1 and looking in the opposite direction. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken through the suction-box in the plane indicated by the line a c in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing a fragment of the feeding or distributing apron, together with the flights and blades carried thereon. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detached perspective view showing the regulator for controlling the supply of cotton to'the feeding or distributing apron. I

In the views, 1 1 indicate aseries of gins, of which there may be any desired number, although I have shown but two arranged in series in the drawings, and 2 indicates the conveyer for carrying the seed-cotton anddistributing the same to the series of gins, this conveyer being formed of an endless belt or apron 3, the ends of which are carried on drums 4, mounted on shafts fixed to blocks 5 and 5, which are held between parallel lower and upper side pieces 6 and 7, two of said side pieces being arranged at each side of the conveyer and being spaced apart to receive between them the blocks 5 and 5, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The block 5? is capable of movement longitudinally of the conveyer for taking up slack in the apron 3, andon the inner side of said block is formed a socket 8, which is engaged byfone end of a shaft 9, the opposite end of which is screw-threaded, as shown'at 10, and is arranged to screw into a nut 11, carried on abrace connecting the side pieces of the conveyer. The shaft 9 is provided with a cross-piece or handle 12, so that it may be turned in order to move the slideblock endwise, as will be readily understood.

The bottom of the conveyer 2, or that space betweenthe side pieces 6 thereof below the lower run of the endless apron 3, is closed, excepting at the points whereat the gins 1 1 are located, by means of sheets 13 andl l, of wire netting or other foraminous material, and, as shown in Fig. 1, the bight of the endless apron 3 at the left-hand end of the conveyer is covered over by a semicircular cage or cover 15,

having its curved face formed of a sheet of wire-netting or the like, said cage or cover being pivoted or hinged at its upper part to the upper part of the conveyer, as indicated at 16, and being provided at its lower part with a fastening, as shown at 17, for holding it in closed position.

The endless apron 3 is provided at intervals with angular brackets 18, riveted or otherwise secured thereto, said brackets being arranged in pairs opposite each other, and to the projecting members of the angular-brackets of each pair is secured a flight 19, which may be, if desired, formed of flexible material. The endless apron 3 is also provided with blades 20, these blades being arranged in transverse series of three, as shown in Fig. 5, and these series being arranged to alternate between the series of flights 19, carried upon the endless apron 3, as shown in Fig. 1, so that between each two flights 19 on the apron 3 there will be one transverse series of blades 20.

The blades 20 are of angular construction,

- tion box being located, as seen in Fig. 1, be

tween the channels 21 and 21, the object of the regulating device being to prevent an excessive supply of cotton to the apron, whereby the channel through which the same passes would become clogged.

The regulating device, which is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 6, comprises a flat plate 22, extending horizontally in the channel 21, just above the path of the flights 19 and blades 20 of the apron 3, said plate being supported by means of guide rods or stems 23, which extend up through openings formed in thetop wall of the conveyer, at the end thereof at which, the channel 21 is located, said rods or stems 23 being provided with pins 24, extending through them and forming spaces to engage the upper surface of the conveyer-top to hold the plate 22 in position,

as shown in Fig. 1. The end of the plate 22, adjacent to the hinged cage or cover 15, is provided with an upturned portion 25, which closes the end of the conveyer, as shown in Fig. 1. By the arrangement of the parts shown and described it will be seen that the plate 22 is made capable of vertical movement toward and from the apron 3, the guide rods or stems 23 playing in the openings in the conveyer-top.

26 indicates the suction or vacuum box, the construction of which is clearly shown in Figs. 1 to 4, said box having its bottom formed with a central opening 27, extending over, parallel, and in line with the apron 3. The cotton is fed to the suction-box by way of a conveyor-flue 28, which communicates, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, with the upper part of the suction-boximmediately over the opening 27 in the bottom thereof. The flue 28 is of considerably greater width than the opening 27 in the bottom of the suction-box, and said flue communicates with a flue 29, which may extend to a storehouse or to a wagon loaded with cotton.

At the junction of the fines 28 and 29 is arranged a drop-pipe 30 of a well-known nature, having a valve to control its communication with the flue 28, and for a portion of its length, the flue 28 is provided with a foraminous bottom 33, which may be a sheet of wire-netting, beneath which bottom is arranged a chest or chamber 32 to receive'and collect heavy materials carried along with the cotton in the flue. The construction of these parts is well known and I have not deemed it essential to show and describe them in detail.

A shelf 40 is arranged in the suction-box and projects out over the flue 28, as shown in Figs. 1 and.3, and the outer part of said shelf is provided with a series of depending fingers 41, said fingers being made of wire bent to form coils 42 at the upper ends of the fingers, said fingers being arranged to extend across the mouth. of the flue, in position to be struck by the cotton passing through the flue into the suction-box.

The suction-box 26 is made wider at the top than at the bottom, the opposite walls thereof being flared, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and inside of the box 26 are arranged screen partitions 36, formed of sheets of wirenetting extending from top to bottom of the box 26, parallel with the side walls of the box, but spaced apart from the same to form compartments 37, adapted to receive the dust and other impurities from the cotton passing through the central portion of the suctionbox.

The opposite side walls of the suction-box 26 are provided with openings, over which are arranged glass plates 38, held to slide in guides 39 at the top and bottom of the openings, and in the front wall of the box 26, or that wall opposite the flue 28, is formed a similar opening, also closed by a glass plate 38*, sliding in guides 39, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the plate 38 does not completely close the opening in the front wall of the suction-box, but leaves an open space at the top of the opening, so that in the operation of the device air is drawn into the suction-box, and the volume of air drawn into the box through said opening may be regu: lated by moving the plate 39. The plates or slides 38 serve in like manner to permit air to be drawn in at the sides of the box direct into the-compartments 37, so as to regulate the suction through the partitions 36.' By

this arrangement also access to the interior ofthe suction-box is provided and the operation thereof can be observed.

34 indicates the flue leading from the suction-box to the exhaust-fan, (not shown,) which serves to exhaust the air from the suction-box, so as to draw the cotton into the same through the flue 28. The flue 34 extends across the front side of the box 26, at the top thereof, and is provided with ports 35, communicating with the compartments 37 at opposite sides of the suction-box.

The front wall of the box 26 is formed with an opening 27, corresponding in position and width with the opening 27 in the bottom of the box and communicating with the channel 21, as shown in Fig. 1, and over the opening 27 extends a series of fingers 43, formed of wire similarly to the fingers 41, above referred to, and serving to prevent the cotton from packing too tightly into said opening 27 a and to prevent the endless apron 3 from carrying too much cotton from the suction-box. The adjacent end of the regulator-plate 22 is provided with an upturned or inclined portion 44, as shown in 1.

In the operation of the device, the air being exhausted from the suction-box and fines, the cotton will be drawn or sucked along through the conveyer-flues into the top part of the suction-box. On entering the suction-box the cotton will strike against the fingers 41 and be deflected downward and throwii to ward the opposite side of the box in the direction of the glass plate 38, where it will be acted on by the air entering at the opening in the front wall of the box and will be drawn back to the rear end of the box, where it will fall through the opening 27 onto the apron 3. Thus it will be seen the seed-cotton is caused to take a somewhat zigzag course across the screen partitions 36 instead of falling direct to the bottom of the box. As the mouth of the flue 28 is of a width greater than the opening 27 in the bottom of the box and the screens have their lower ends at the sides of the said opening, the cotton in falling will strike against the screen partitions and the dust and other impurities will be drawn by the suction through the screen partitions and so separated from the cotton. The cotton falling to the bottom of the suction-box will pass through the opening 27, into which it will be guided by the inclined screens 36 and will fall upon the apron 3, moving in the direction indicated by arrows m in Fig. 1. The cotton will then be caught by the blades 20 and flights 19 of the apron and carried into the channel 21 beneath the regulator-plate 22, the spring-fingers 43 serving to prevent too much cotton being carried by the apron. The regulator-plate 22 will act by gravity to press the cotton compactly down upon the apron in the spaces between the flights 19 and blades 20. The further movement of the apron 3 will carry the cotton past the regulator and down over the pulley or roller 4 to the lower side of the conveyer, where it will be distributed to the several gins 1, and should there be a surplus of cotton supplied tothe gins such surplus will be carried on by the apron and discharged from the open end 45 of the conveyer, where it will be discharged into a suitable overflowchamber 46, into which the drop-pipe leads, as shown in Fig. 1. The bottom of the conveyer between the series of gins being formed of wire-netting or other fo-raminous material permits any dust or fine impurities in' the cotton to fall through said bottom.

From the above description it will be seen that the improved cleaner and distributer is of an extremely simple and inexpensive construction and serves to thoroughly clean the cotton, which is subjected to the action of the exhaust-fan, acting to drawthe air simultaneously from both the chambers 37 011 opposite sides of the cotton passing through the suction-box, and it will be obvious from the above description that the device is susceptible of some modification without material departure from its principles and spirit,-and for this reason I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the precise form and arrangement of the parts herein set forth.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 7 1. The combination with a conveyer-casing, and a suction-box communicating therewith, of the upwardly-inclined foraminous walls arranged within the suction-box on opposite sides of the opening between the casing and box and said Walls formiu g a central compartment and two side compartments within the suction-box, a suction-flue discharging into the central compartment of the suction-box between the foraminous walls therein, the elastic fingers supported Within said central compartment of the suction-box in the plane of the discharge end of the suction-flue to intercept the cotton as it is discharged from the flue, an exhaust-fan, and a branched exhaust-flue communicating with the side compartments of the suction-box to create a suction uniformly through the side and central compartments of the box, substantially as described.

2. In a device for cleaning seed-cotton, a suction-box provided with perforated walls which form between themselves a central chamber for the passage of cotton and also form with the walls of said box the side compartments, and the independent valve-con trolled air-inlet openings formed in the suction-box to open directly into the central and the side compartments, combined with an exhaust-flue which is branched tocommunicate with both side compartments above the air-inlet openings therein and adapted to exhaust air uniformly through both side compartments, a suction-flue entering the central compartment on the opposite side of the suction-box from the branched exhaust-flue, a suction-fan, and a deflector situated adjacent to the mouth of the suction-flue and within the central compartment in the plane of the perforated walls, whereby the draft created by the exhaust-flue tends to draw the refuse upwardly through the perforated Walls and the deflectors serve to direct the cotton into an irregular course and against said perforated walls, substantially as described.

3. In a device for cleaning seed-cotton, the combination of a suction-box provided with side compartments and with regulating devices for the inlet of air directly into said side compartments, a suction-flue discharging to a central passage of the suction-box, distributing-fingers arranged in the central passage of the suction-box and adjacent to the point of discharge of the suction-flue to lie in the path of the cotton delivered by said suctionfiue, an exhaust-flue connected with the suction-boX to communicate with the side compartments thereof and an exhaust-fan, substantially as described, for the purposes set forth.

4. In a device for cleaning seed-cotton, a suction-box having a passage for the cotton to be cleaned, and having at the receiving end of the passage resilient fingers adapted to direct the cotton downward into said passage and provided adjacent to their points of attachment with spring-coils, substantially as set forth.

5. In a device for cleaning and distributing seed-cotton, a suction-box having an opening in its bottom, and having a passage through it for the cotton, a distributing-apron arranged beneath said opening and resilient fingers at said opening to prevent the choking of said apron, said fingers being provided with spring-coils substantially as set forth.

6. In an apparatus for distributing seedcotton, the combination of a conveyer-casing having a channel, an endless distributing-conveyer arranged to move in said channel, a suction-box having a passage for the cotton and arranged to discharge the same to said apron, and a regulator arranged in the channel adjacent to said suction-box and compris-- ing a plate arranged in line with the apron, guide-rods connected to the plate and playing in perforations in the top of the conveyer,

and stops to limit the movement of said plate, substantially as set forth.

7. In a device for cleaning seed-cotton, a suction-box having an opening in its bottom and provided with opposite foraminous walls extending throughout its entire length and forming exhaust-chambers, said box being provided at its front with an air-inlet opening which communicates with a central space or chamber between the foraminous walls, and having means for regulating the size of the same, a supply-flue communicating with the central space or passage of the box at the back thereof, an exhaust-fan, and a flue connected with the exhaust-fan and provided with ports communicating with the exhaustchambers, substantially as described.

8. In an apparatus for distributing seedcotton, the combination with a conveyer-casing having a channel, and an endless conveyer provided with Wings or flights and situated in said casing, of the suction-box mounted on said casing for communication therewith and provided in one of its Walls with an opening 27 for the passage of cotton from the suction-box to the conveyer-casing, a series of yieldable fingers mounted in said suction-box to extend across the opening 27' and to lie adjacent to the Wings or flights of the endless conveyer, and an automatic chokerregulator movably mounted in the channel of the conveyer-casing above the conveyer therein and arranged adjacent to the opening 27 a and the yieldable fingers, substantially as described, for the purposes described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANK WALLA.

WVitnesses:

J OSEF J ANAK, F. J. PINETZ. 

